Something Peculiar

2.4

Rosé crouched in front of me, keeping Tweeting at the back. She probably knew Tae's inclination would be to hold me, and Rosé didn't want me to move, afraid that it might rupture something. Taehyung shouted frantically, but Rosé kept insisting that everything would be alright. Within moments a woman appeared in the room. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she knelt down in front of me pushing Rosé to the side. Her eyes were almost dark as Lisa's, and I found something comforting in that.

"My name is Suzy, and I'm going to help you." She pressed her hand hard against my abdomen, and I winced. It hurt so bad I wanted to scream, but then the pain began to fade. A weird numbing tingle spread through me. It took me a second to figure out where I had felt the sensation before.

"You're a healer," I mumbled, slightly dismayed that she was helping me. The pain in my chest and stomach had disappeared, and she put her hand on my face, fixing my black eye.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?" Suzy asked, ignoring my statement. She looked worn out, a temporary side effect from healing but otherwise she was incredibly beautiful.

"I don't think so." I sat up, still a little unsteady, but that was lessening by the moment.

"Jeongyeon went way overboard," Suzy said, more to herself than me. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Excellent." Suzy stood up and turned to Rosé. "You need to control your trackers better."

"They're not mine." Rosé crossed her arms over her chest. "If you have a problem with how they do their job, take it up with your husband."

"I'm certain my husband wouldn't like how this situation was handled." Suzy looked at her severely, but she didn't back down.

"I was doing you a favor," Rosé replied evenly. "If I hadn't been there, it would've been worse."

"I'm not having this discussion now." She glanced in my direction, then walked out of the room.

"Is that everything, then?" Rosé asked us once the Queen had gone.

"Not even close." Taehyung had been sitting next to me but he got to his feet. "What do you want with us? You can't just keep us here!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Rosé smiled emptily at me and turned to leave the room.

Taehyung tried to rush her, but Rosé was already out the door before he got to her. She slammed the door, and Taehyung sagged against the door.

"What is going on here?" Tae shouted and turned to look at me. "How come you're not dying anymore?"

"Would you rather I be dying?" I pulled the sleeve of my sweater down and wiped the blood away from my face. "I could get Jeongyeon in here to finish the job."

"Don't be ridiculous." Tae rubbed his forehead. "I want to know what's happening. I feel like I'm in a bad dream."

"It gets easier," I said and turned to Wooseok. "What the hell was that hobgoblin thing came in? Was that an actual troll?"

"I don't know." Wooseok shook his head, looking just as bewildered as I felt. "I've never seen one before, but everyone goes out of their way to make sure mänks don't know anything."

"I didn't think there were real trolls." I furrowed my brow, trying to remember what Lisa had told me about trolls before. "I thought they were just myths."

"Really?" Taehyung asked. "After everything that's happened? So you pick and choose what mythology you believed in?"

"I'm not picking and choosing anything." I got my feet. I still feel sore all over, but it was light-years better than I'd felt when I woke up. "I believe what I can see. I hadn't seen this before. That's all."